Book Report - "The Stormlight Archive" by Brandon Sanderson
It’s been a long time since my last Book Report segment, and I’ve read a lot of books since then, but this series seemed most relevant. Oh, right, and this is a series, not a single book.
Anyone who has read Sanderson can tell you that he does fantasy right. His worlds are large and complex, but he doesn’t drone on about them in the style of Tolkien. His characters are deep and dynamic, but none is singled out as the real main character. In short, his writing is just plain amazing, pretty much every bit of it.
One note about the books in “The Stormlight Archive” series, though: they’re huge. Over a thousand pages per hardback book, and 45 hours for the shortest audiobook. These things are not for the faint of heart. They are large time investments, but they are worth it by an enormous margin.
Book one, “The Way of Kings,” is a little slow to start. It jumps around to different character perspectives, and at the beginning, these characters have no clear link to one another. However, as you read on and discover the connections, the story becomes addictive. Every character has a distinct background, and as you discover more information, their motives and actions become more interesting. Through “Words of Radiance” and “Oathbringer,” the plot gets only more enthralling.
The series is planned to be two sets of five books each. Don’t let that fool you into thinking that each book flows straight into the next without some resolution. Sanderson does a great job of wrapping up each of the books with a bang, yet still allowing plenty of auxiliary questions and conflicts to set the stage for the sequel.
And speaking of sequels, “Rhythm of War” is scheduled to come out next month. I fully expect book four to continue with the fantastic literature that is “The Stormlight Archive.” At this point, it may be a little late to binge read the series and catch up before book four comes out, but I highly recommend the series and there should be plenty more sequels to catch in the future. I’m almost done with “Oathbringer” myself, and my short term goal is to be finished so I can move straight onto the next one.
I just hope that my local library gets a copy of the audiobook of “Rhythm of War” quickly.
Anyone who has read Sanderson can tell you that he does fantasy right. His worlds are large and complex, but he doesn’t drone on about them in the style of Tolkien. His characters are deep and dynamic, but none is singled out as the real main character. In short, his writing is just plain amazing, pretty much every bit of it.
One note about the books in “The Stormlight Archive” series, though: they’re huge. Over a thousand pages per hardback book, and 45 hours for the shortest audiobook. These things are not for the faint of heart. They are large time investments, but they are worth it by an enormous margin.
Book one, “The Way of Kings,” is a little slow to start. It jumps around to different character perspectives, and at the beginning, these characters have no clear link to one another. However, as you read on and discover the connections, the story becomes addictive. Every character has a distinct background, and as you discover more information, their motives and actions become more interesting. Through “Words of Radiance” and “Oathbringer,” the plot gets only more enthralling.
The series is planned to be two sets of five books each. Don’t let that fool you into thinking that each book flows straight into the next without some resolution. Sanderson does a great job of wrapping up each of the books with a bang, yet still allowing plenty of auxiliary questions and conflicts to set the stage for the sequel.
And speaking of sequels, “Rhythm of War” is scheduled to come out next month. I fully expect book four to continue with the fantastic literature that is “The Stormlight Archive.” At this point, it may be a little late to binge read the series and catch up before book four comes out, but I highly recommend the series and there should be plenty more sequels to catch in the future. I’m almost done with “Oathbringer” myself, and my short term goal is to be finished so I can move straight onto the next one.
I just hope that my local library gets a copy of the audiobook of “Rhythm of War” quickly.
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